A new nonprofit with a familiar mission is holding its inaugural fundraiser.

The group is Reach Out For Life, which provides breast cancer screening to Richmond-area women who otherwise could not afford the life-saving exams.

And its first fundraiser is Bowling for Boobs, which will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20, at AMF Sunset Lanes, 6540 W. Broad St.

Reach Out received its nonprofit status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in late October. It is a successor to the nonprofit Ellen Shaw de Paredes Breast Cancer Foundation, which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 2.

The foundation had provided services including physician training, but Reach Out’s sole purpose is mammography screening. The need is critical, so speed was an essential component in the transition, according to Norah Lind, executive director of Reach Out, and former executive director of the breast cancer foundation.

“We serve women who often slip through the cracks of other programs,” she says.

Reach Out partners with 34 area hospitals, clinics and other providers to ensure access to free breast health services to underinsured, low-income women. Click here for a list of participants. The clinics qualify women to participate in the program and also schedule the appointments.

The bowling event is open to social and corporate teams of five. It costs $25 per person to participate, or $100 for a team of five. Admission includes a drink and three games of bowling.

A raffle will be held, with a drawing at 3:45 p.m. You must be present to win.

Great Friends

A program providing free, nutritious meals and other healthy services to Richmond-area seniors has received a $10,000 donation to boost its art instruction, exercise programs and special programming.

Friendship Cafés has received the funding boost. The cafés program is operated by Senior Connections, The Capital Area Agency on Aging, and is available in 22 locations.

CareMore, a health care provider specializing in services to seniors, provided the donation through the Adopt A Café program, according to a Senior Connections release. The cafés provide “food, fun and fellowship” to residents age 60 and older in Chesterfield, Charles City, Hanover and Henrico counties and in the city of Richmond.

Lyme disease vaccine now on market

There’s a new vaccine to ward off Lyme disease in your dog, thanks in part to a VCU School of Medicine researcher.

The researcher, Richard T. Marconi, is also currently working on a Lyme disease vaccine for people, something that’s not been available since one was pulled from market in 2002.

Marconi is a co-developer on the canine vaccine, which has been in the works since 2005. It was licensed through the VCU Innovation Gateway in 2011 to Zoetis, and will be sold through its Vanguard product line. The U.S. Department of Agriculture licensed the product on Jan. 6, according to a VCU release.

The vaccine has two actions: It stimulates an immune response against transmission of the bacteria that causes Lyme disease from tick to dog, and kills the bacteria that causes the disease.

Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne illness in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms of Lyme disease in dogs include arthritis, lameness and cardiac complications.

“If not diagnosed and treated early, Lyme disease can potentially be a lethal infection,” says Marconi, a professor of microbiology and immunology, in the release. “The best approach to minimizing disease in canines as well as in humans is to block infection in the first place.”

Rock the Top Docs

Who are Richmond’s top doctors?

We should know, soon: Voting is underway for the 2016 edition of Richmond magazine’s annual Top Docs survey.

We’ve sent letters to more than 5,000 Richmond-area doctors, asking them to participate in our online vote. The question posed to each of them: Which physicians in various specialty areas would you recommend to a family member or close friend?

We’ve also asked our physicians to identify the greatest obstacle they face in in terms of delivering quality care to patients.

Are you a Richmond-area physician, psychologist, optometrist or chiropractor, but didn’t get an invitation to participate? Contact me and I’ll get the information to you on how to vote.

Voting continues through 11 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 15. Winners will be featured in our April issue.

Back to Class

VCU Health’s series of free seminars on a variety of health topics returns in February to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

The first session is on hybrid ablation, a new treatment for atrial fibrillations that combines a catheter ablation and a surgical procedure.The seminar will be presented at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, by Kenneth Ellenbogen and Vigneshwar Kasirajan at the garden’s Kelly Education Center, 1800 Lakeside Ave.

Other topics include “Everything You Wanted to Know About a Woman’s Heart” with Dr. Phoebe Ashley on Feb. 18; peripheral artery disease treatment alternatives with Dr. Luis Guzman and Dr. Mark Levy of the Pauley Heart Center on Feb. 25; “Cervical Disc Surgery: Fusion or Replacement?” with Dr. Brian Cameron on March 1; “Why Can’t We Cure Traumatic Brain Injury?” with Dr. Alex Valadka on March 15; and “When Arthritis Affects the Foot and Ankle” with Dr. Tejas Patel on March 24.

Sessions are free and open to the public, but reservations are recommended.